When, in May 2017, Real Madrid confirmed they had signed Brazilian wonderkid Vinicius Jr for €50m the reaction was one of widespread disbelief.
Many probably found themselves thinking ‘Who?’, and even those who had heard tales of his talent or seen his scintillating displays for Brazil U17s balked at the enormity of the transfer fee. At the time, he was still 16 and had played just eight minutes of senior football.
Fast-forward fifteen months and, after turning 18 in July, he has finally joined up with the club that invested so heavily to secure his services.
Over the intervening period, Vinicius has progressed exponentially, becoming one of Flamengo’s main attacking threats before exiting for the Spanish capital.
A series of subsequent developments, however, has put paid to that notion.
The first step was the transfer that overshadowed all others at the Bernabeu (or anywhere else) this summer; Ronaldo’s €100m move to Juventus.
When it went through, all of us imagined that Real would move quickly to replace the Portuguese goal-machine with another Galactico.
Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Robert Lewandowski and Eden Hazard were all mooted, but Hazard has ruled out a move this summer and Bayern will not sell their Polish marksman.
Neymar and his French team-mate are still possibilities but the closer we get towards the end of the transfer window, the more difficult it becomes to do a mega-deal with PSG for one of their two protagonists.
Integration
The question now is how the tricky winger fits in to Julen Lopetegui’s plans for Los Blancos. Owing to the player’s age and relative inexperience, most observers in Brazil assumed that upon the completion of his transfer he would immediately link up with Real Madrid Castilla, the club’s B team, or be sent out on loan to a lesser La Liga side. That way, he would be able to gain playing experience in the more competitive and intense Spanish game and adapt to his new surroundings without the crushing weight of expectation that comes with turning out for one of the world’s biggest clubs.
A series of subsequent developments, however, has put paid to that notion.
The first step was the transfer that overshadowed all others at the Bernabeu (or anywhere else) this summer; Ronaldo’s €100m move to Juventus.
When it went through, all of us imagined that Real would move quickly to replace the Portuguese goal-machine with another Galactico.
Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Robert Lewandowski and Eden Hazard were all mooted, but Hazard has ruled out a move this summer and Bayern will not sell their Polish marksman.
Neymar and his French team-mate are still possibilities but the closer we get towards the end of the transfer window, the more difficult it becomes to do a mega-deal with PSG for one of their two protagonists.